How to Use Relative Pronouns? Edit

A Relative Pronoun is a pronoun that connects two clauses by referring back to a noun or pronoun mentioned previously in the sentence. Understanding how to use relative pronouns correctly is essential for building complex sentences and improving your English grammar structure.

What is a Relative Pronoun?

Relative Pronoun এর সংজ্ঞাঃ যে Pronoun পূর্বোল্লখিত কোন Noun বা Pronoun এর পরে বসে তার সাথে সম্পর্ক স্থাপন করে এবং দুটি Clause-কে যুক্ত তাকে Relative Pronoun বলে।

Examples of Relative Pronouns in Sentences

  • (i) I saw the man who was catching fish.
  • (ii) This is the house which/ that I want to buy.
  • (iii) We helped the girl whose father died last year.
  • (iv) The boy whom you met yesterday is my brother.

উপরোক্ত Sentence গুলোতে who, which/ that, whose ও whom ইহারা Relative Pronoun কারণ উহারা যথাক্রমে the man, the house, the girl the boy এর পরে বসে দুটি Sentence কে যুক্ত করেছে।

Main Types of Relative Pronouns

প্রধান প্রধান Relative Pronoun: who, which / that, whose whom ইত্যাদি। তাছাড়া what, as এবং but a Relative Pronoun হিসেবে ব্যবহৃত হয়। For a deeper dive into clause connectors, check out our guide on Relative Pronouns.

Pro Tip: Always place the relative pronoun immediately after the noun or pronoun it modifies to prevent confusion in your sentence structure. You can learn more about avoiding structural errors in our post on Relative Pronouns (Misplaced Words).

Rules for Using Different Relative Pronouns

  • (a) Pronoun-টি যদি ব্যক্তি বাচক (যেমন- I, you, he, she, they we) হয়, তবে তার পরিবর্তে who বসে।
    যেমন:
    I met the man. He is a teacher.
    Answer: I met the man who is a teacher.
  • (b) Pronoun-টি যদি বস্তু বা অব্যক্তিবাচক (যেমন- pen, pencil, Dhaka ইত্যাদি) হয় তবে তার পরিবর্তে which/that বসে।
    যেমন:
    The writer took a cabin. It belonged to the manage.
    Ans: The writer took a cabin that/ which belonged to the orphange.
  • (c) Pronoun-টি যদি possessive (my, our your, their his, her) হয় তবে তার পরিবর্তে Whose বসে।
    যেমন:
    Yesterday I met the boy. His brother is a doctor.
    Ans: Yesterday I met the boy whose brother is a doctor.
  • (d) Pronoun-টি যদি objective (me, us, you, them, him, her) হয় তার পরিবর্তে whom বসে। যেমন:
    The man is a famous doctor. I met him in the bus.
    Ans: The man is a famous doctor whom I met in the bus.
    or: The man whom I met in the bus is a famous doctor.

How to Combine Two Sentences Using a Relative Pronoun?

Relative pronoun দ্বারা দুটি Sentence কে যুক্ত করার নিয়ম:

২য় Sentence-এর Pronoun টি উঠিয়ে দিয়ে সেই স্থলে Relative Pronoun আনতে হয় এবং উক্ত Relative Pronoun টি প্রথম Sentence এর যে Noun/ Pronoun কে নির্দেশ করে ঠিক তার পরেই বসে।

  • The writer was poor. He drank water.
    Ans: The writer, who was poor, drank water.

সমাধানঃ এখানে দ্বিতীয় Sentence-এর Pronoun-টি “he " ব্যক্তিবাচক Subject হওয়ায় ইহার পরিবর্তে who বসেছে এবং উক্ত who প্রথম Sentence এর the writer কে নির্দেশ করেছে তাই who কে the writer এর পরে বসানো হয়েছে।

Relative Pronoun (which/ that, whom, whose) একই নিয়ম প্রযোজ্য হবে ।

Exercise to be Practised

  1. The girl is my sister. She got the first prize.
  2. This is the woman. She lost her bag.
  3. Jerry was an orphan boy. He came to the orphange at the age of four.
  4. The other sailors were very angry with the old man. He had shot the albatross.
  5. I found them all living in a cabin. It belonged to the orphanage.
  6. He sees his own garden. It contains more pleasure for him.
  7. You met a boy yesterday. He is my brother.
  8. The magi were wise men. They brought gifts to the babe in the manger.
  9. The caliph was astonished to see the dervishes. Each of the dervishes was blind in the left eye.
  10. The porter was a young bachelor. He lived in the city of Baghdad.
  11. I bought it from a man. He sold it to me.
  12. Here is some money. I would like to leave it with you.
  13. The boy was very poor. His pen was lost in the way.
  14. The door was opened by a Christian. He gave her a measure of olives.
  15. Jim was only twenty two. He was burdened with a family.
  16. God loves us all. He made us all.
  17. These French white wines are very light. They are wonderful for the digestion.
  18. Jerry had an imaginary mother. She lived in Mannville.
  19. For myself I chose the cheapest dish on the menu. That was a mutton chop.
  20. My aunt is a doctor. She works in the hospital.
  21. The old sailor saw an albatross. It was flying towards to the ship.
  22. The old sailor killed the bird. It made the winds blow.
  23. The porter followed the girls into a hall. It was wonderfully decorated.
  24. We know a few stars. They are bigger than the earth.
  25. The lady had read one of the books of the writer. She wrote letters to him.

Key Takeaways

  • Relative pronouns connect two clauses and refer back to a preceding noun or pronoun.
  • Use who for persons, which/that for non-living things, whose for possession, and whom for objective cases.
  • Always position the relative pronoun directly after the noun or pronoun it modifies.

Quick Practice

Try combining these sentences in the comments section below:
1. I met a man. He can speak four languages.
2. This is the book. I bought it yesterday.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to use relative pronouns correctly?

To use relative pronouns correctly, identify the noun or pronoun in the first clause, choose the appropriate relative pronoun based on whether it is a person, object, possessive, or objective case, and place it immediately after that noun.

What are the main relative pronouns in English grammar?

The primary relative pronouns are who, which, that, whose, and whom, along with words like what, as, and but used under specific conditions.

More Lessons to Try

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